The present invention relates generally to computer telephony. More specifically, the present invention relates to a network-based method and apparatus for screening telephone calls which involves use of a premises-based computing device.
Computer telephony is a form of telecommunications that involves the movement of encoded voice-related and non-voice-related information from one point to another for the purpose of accomplishing transactions between humans, between machines and humans, or between machines. In other words, computer-telephony calls can convey encoded voice-related and non-voice-related information from one computer to another computer, or from a telephone to a computer or vice versa. Computer telephony is generally referred to as a form of telephony where one of the premises endpoints uses a digital computing device (e.g., a personal computer) in place of a conventional telephone headset.
Many of the services currently available with traditional telephony are also applicable with computer telephony. For example, a telephone answering device (TAD) for a traditional telephone located at a called party""s location can allow a called party to screen incoming calls. The answering machine can record a voice message being left by a calling party while concurrently playing the voice message out loud. If present during the voice message being recorded, the called party can listen to the voice message and identify the calling party without indicating to the calling party that the called party is present. This concept is referred to herein as xe2x80x9ccall screeningxe2x80x9d and is a feature valued by consumers who use TADs. This form of call screening is accomplished with a premises-based TAD and is performed using the voice of the calling party.
Known network-based services exist which deliver call screening information to a called party in the form of the telephone number (and, sometimes, the name) of the calling party at the moment a call is incident (i.e., is ringing) This represents another form of call screening which permits the called party to decide whether or not to answer the inbound call. This form of call screening is performed using the telephone number (and/or name) of the calling party. This service is sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cANI Display.xe2x80x9d
Other known network-based telephone answering services exist which will record a message, spoken by a calling party, intended for a called party. Such network-based telephone answering services are generally triggered by line-busy or ring-no-answer conditions at the called party station. Such services are incapable of providing call screening where the called party screens the call based on the voice of the calling party.
Messaging systems can be incorporated with premises-based computers which engage in computer telephony. Known computer-telephony (CT) messaging systems, however, suffer several shortcomings. First, known CT messaging systems cannot operate while the power to the computer is off. A called party present when a CT call is inbound but when the computer power is turned off, will not be aware that a CT call is being received and, consequently, will not be able to screen the call nor learn of the call. The CT call is dropped at the called party""s computer and cannot be recovered. The calling party does not have an opportunity to leave a message. Second, if the telephone line used by the premises computing device is otherwise engaged, the computer has no network linkage and so is unaware of any incident call.
Typical CT services maintain a registry of active and available called parties and enable a calling party to discover whether a prospective called party is active and available. Many situations can exist where a called party, particularly one who wishes to screen incoming calls, does not want prospective calling parties to know whether or not the called party is active and available for receiving CT calls. Some CT users will not want to appear in any registry so as not to reveal their existence.
The present invention allows call screening by the called party of computer-telephony calls through a network-based computer-telephony services platform and a premises-based computing device. The present invention allows computer-telephony call screening when the called party""s computer is powered on and has a network presence. When the called party""s computer is not available, the network-based services platform simply records the communication of a calling party.
Using a call screening feature, the called party can perceive the calling party""s message while the message is being recorded. Furthermore, CT calls can be completed and call screening can be performed without maintaining a registry of active and available called parties. Called parties can maintain their privacy and need not publicly disclose their network presence.
A call having communication from a calling party to a called party, who has a computer capable of receiving the call, within a communications network having a service platform, can be screened. The call is received at the service platform within the communications network. The communication of the call from the calling party is recorded. The communication of the call is routed to the computer of the called party so that the called party can perceive the communication as the communication is being recorded at the service platform.
A request from the called party to connect the call can be received. The call between the called party and the calling party can be connected based on the received request. Recording of the communication of the call at the service platform can be ceased upon receiving the called party""s request to connect the call. The partially recorded communication of the calling party can be erased or maintained.
The call can be identified in a variety of manners. First, the call can be identified as a computer-telephony call by the communication-network router associated with the called party. The call can be identified at the communication-network router by a service-type identifier within a header of the call setup packets. The call can be routed from the router to the service platform where the calling party communication can be recorded.
Second, the calling party""s service provider and the called party""s service provider can coordinate the routing of computer-telephony calls. For example, a database server within the communications network can translate the network address of the called party into the network address of the services platform. The database server can be, for example, the Domain Naming Service (DNS) database server.
Third, the called party can provide a public directory and/or prospective calling parties with a personal DID (direct inward dial) number which terminates at the services platform.
Fourth, a CT call incident directly on the computer of the called party can be immediately redirected to a network-based services platform.
Finally, computer telephony calls can be addressed directly to the services platform where the calling party enters the equivalent of a telephone number or personal identification number (PIN) to identify the called party.